St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-12-08

| reform by putting it beyond the reach
| of so many. The amount of whisky
consumed in the United States per
| capita to-day is not more than forty per
| cent of that consumed thirty years
| ago."
After a few moments silence, Mr..
Blaine added that in his judgment the
whisky tax should be SO modified as to
| permit all who use pure alcohol in the
arts or in mechanical pursuits to have it
| free of tax. In all such cases the tax
could be omitted without danger of
| fraud, just as now the tax on spirits eX-
| ported is remitted.
Besides your general and sweeping
| opposition TO the presidents recOmmen-
datiOn, have you any further specific
| ObjectiOn?"
"Yes," answered Mr.. Blaine. II
| should seriously object to the repeal of
| the duty on wool. To repeal that
would work great injustice to many in
| terestS and would seriously discourage
what we should earnestly encourage,
namely, the sheep culture among
farmers throughout the Union. To
break down wool growing and be de-
| pendent on foreign countries for the
blanket under which we sleep and the
| coat that covers our backs is not wise
| policy for the national government to
enforce"
''Do you think if the presidents rec
concentrations were adopted, it would
increase our export trade?'
POSSIBLY i'm some few articles of pc
culiar construction it might, but 1t
would increase our import trade ten
fold as much in the great staple fabrics,
in wOOlen and cotton goods, in iron,
in steel, in all the thou
sand and one shapes in which they are
wrought. How are we to export staple
fabrics to the markets of Europe unless
we make them cheaper than they do in
Europe, and how are we to manufac-
ture them cheaper than they do in Eu-
rope unless we get cheaper labor than
they have in EurOpe?"
Then you think that
THE QUESTION OF LABOR
underlieS the whole subiecty'
"Of course it does" replied Mr..
Blaine. 1T is, in fact, the entire QueS-
ton. Whenever we can force carpen-
tiers, masOns. iron workers and mechan-
les in every department to work as
cheaply and live as poorly in the
United States as similar WOrkmen i'll
Europe, we can, of course, manufacture
Just as cheaply as they do in Eng
land and France. But / am totally Op-
posed to a policy that would entail such
results. To attempt it is equivalent to
a social and financial revOlution-one
that would bring untold distress" H.
"Yes, but might not the great farming
class be benefited by importing articles
from Europe instead of buying them at
higher prices at hOme?'
"The moment" answered Mr. Blaine,
''yOu begin to import freely from Eu-
rope you drive our own workmen from
mechanical and manufacturing pur-
suits. In the same proportion
they become tillers of the soil. in
creaslng steadily the agricultural
product and decreasing. steadily
the large home demand which is con-
stantly enlarging as home manufact-
ures enlarge. That, of course, works
great injury to the farmer, glutting the
market with his products and tending
constantly to lower prices"
"Yes, but the foreign demand for
farm products would be increased Ill
like ratio, would it not?'
Even suppose it were," said Mr..
Blaine, chow do you know the source
from which it will be supplied. The
tendency in Russia to-day and in the
Asiatic possessions of England is toward
a large increase of the grain supply, the
grain being raised by the cheapest pos
Sible labor. Manufacturing countries
will buy their breadstuffS where they
can get them cheapest. and the
ENLARGING OF THE HOME MARKET
for the American farmer being checked
he would search in vain for one of the
same value. His foreign sales are al
ready checked by the great COM
petition abroad. There never was
time when the increase
v..4 10
to him. The best proof is that the far
mers are prosperous in proportion to the
nearness of manufacturing centers, and
a protective tariff tends to spread manu-
factureS. In Ohio and Indiana, for eX-
ample, though not claSsed as manufacture
ing states, the annual value of fabrics
is larger than the annual value of agri-
cultural products"
But those holding the presidents
views" remarked the reporter, ''are
always quoting the great prosperity of
the country under the tariff of 1876"
THAT tariff did not involve the one
destructive point recommended by the
president, namely, the retaining of
direct internal taxes i'll order to abolish
indirect taxes levied Oh foreign fabrics.
But the country had peculiar advan-
tages under it by the Crimean war in
and largely impairing their trade. All
these incidents, or accidents il youchOose,
were immensely stimulating to trade i'll
the United States. regardless of the ma
ture of our tariff. But mark the end of
this European experience with the tariff
of 1916. which for time gave an illu-
sorry and deceptive show of prosperity. Its
enactment was Immediately followed by
the Mexican war; then in 1S4S by the
great commissions in Europe; then in
1919 and succeeding years by the enOr-
nous gold yield in California. The
powers made peace in 1856, and at the
same time the output of gold in Cali
fornia feh off. Immediately the
FINANCIAL PANIC
of 1851 came upon the country with dis
astrous force. Though we had in these
years mined vast amount of gold in
California, every bank in New York
was compelled to suspend specie pay
ment. -Four hundred millions in gold
had been carried out of the country in
eight years to pay for foreign goods that
should have been manufactured at
home. and we had years of depression
and distress as an atOnement for our
folly.
1T is remarkable that President Polk
recommended the tariff of 1916 on pre-
cisely the same ground that President
Cleveland recommends similar enact
ment now. namely, the surplus in the
treasury was menacing the prosperity
of the country. History is repeating
itself. By the way" Mr.. Blaine
added, after moments reflection.
lit is worth notice that Mr.. Polk insists
on emptying the treasury by a free
trade tariff, then Immediately rushed
the country into debt by borrowing
$50, 900 for the Mexican war.
trust nothing may occur to repeat so
disastrous a sequel to the policy recon-
mendcd by President Cleveland. But
THE UNIFORM FATE
has been for fifty years past that the
Democratic party when it goes out of